Argentina: The one new association admitted to membership at the WFC Assembly in Portugal was the Argentina National Association of Chiropractors (ANAQ), representing most of Argentina's 25 duly qualified chiropractors.
. Belgium: At the Assembly, Dr. Thyl Duhameeuw, president of the Belgian Chiropractors' Union (BCU), explained that the BCU, which currently has 98 members, is celebrating its 60th anniversary. He encouraged delegates to come to next year's European Chiropractors' Union Convention, scheduled to be held in Brussels, Belgium from May 1-3, 2007.
Indonesia: The WFC has just received an application for membership from the Asosiasi Chiropraktor Indonesia (ACI). The ACI, formed this month with formal bylaws, a code of ethics and other documentation, is led by Chairman Dr. Brilliantono Soenarwo, a Life University graduate, and represents 14 duly qualified chiropractors who are graduates of accredited colleges in Australia, Canada and the United States.
Although there are no formal laws to regulate the practice of chiropractic in Indonesia, last year the Ministry of Health gave certain regulatory powers to an organization known as the Perhimpunan Chiropraksi Indonesia or Indonesian Chiropractic Association (PCI), which has an interdisciplinary membership that includes chiropractors. With chiropractic steadily gaining strength in nearby Singapore and Malaysia, there is potential for rapid development of the profession in Indonesia if all parties now act in a coordinated manner. The WFC is planning meetings with leaders of both the ACI and PCI later in the year.
Iran: Dr. Mohsen Khamessipour, secretary of the Iranian Chiropractic Association (IrCA), reported to the WFC Assembly that Iran now has 52 licensed chiropractors. Legislation was passed in 2000 to recognize and regulate the profession, which has a traditional primary-contact chiropractic scope of practice that includes broad diagnostic rights, including the right to order most forms of skeletal imaging. IrCA President Dr. Hosein Sabbagh sits as a director on the Iranian Medical Council - which may well be a first for the chiropractic profession internationally. After early years of harassment in the 1980s and 1990s, the profession is well-established.
Japan: In a significant development, Japan now has a second school partnering with an accredited chiropractic school from Australia to provide education at an international level in Tokyo. The first was RMIT Japan, sponsored by the Japanese Association of Chiropractors and partnering with RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. RMIT Japan now has full accreditation from CCE Australasia. The second is Murdoch Japan, led by Dr. Yozo Kawanishi and partnering with Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. Dr. Kawanishi and Dr. Brian Nook, program head of the School of Chiropractic, Murdoch University, were at the WFC Assembly to explain the double bachelor's degree qualification in chiropractic now available through Murdoch in either Perth or Tokyo. The Perth program is fully accredited by CCE Australasia; the Tokyo program is applying for accreditation.
Norway: The Norwegian Chiropractors' Association, which this year reached the milestone of 400 members, has been most generous in donating US$10,000 toward the Brazilian legislative campaign. As has been noted in recent QWRs, chiropractic in Norway is flourishing. The major reason is that the association has adopted a consistent, mainstream professional identity, which has led to recognition and support not only from the public, but also other health professions and the government. At the WFC
Assembly, NCA President Dr. Øystein Ogre identified three priorities for his association that he suggested applied to all national associations: first, effective professional organization, since experience had shown that where this exists the profession succeeds; second, recruitment of students - osteopathy is growing more quickly than chiropractic in Europe and growth of the profession is a priority; and third, establishing membership support for associations while future chiropractors are still students.Portugal: Congratulations again to all members of the Associação Portuguesa dos Quioropráticos (APQ), and especially Drs. Antonio Alves, Ed Saltys and Helder Prazeres, for hosting so well the WFC Congress/ECU Convention in Vilamoura, the Algarve, last month. In 2002 the Portuguese passed framework legislation to recognize the chiropractic profession, but the detailed regulations governing licensure and practice have not yet been put in place. Dr. Alves, APQ president, represents the profession on a Ministry of Health Commission that is working on these regulations. Portuguese VIPs present at the Congress were Professor João Lobo Antunes, Portugal's leading neurosurgeon, who spoke at the Gala Banquet, and Francis Obikwelu, European 2006 Male Athlete-of-the-Year and 100 meter record-holder. Francis spoke of the importance of chiropractic care in improving his performance and keeping him injury-free. To view the short special video prepared for and shown at the Congress, and featuring Francis' Silver Medal 100 meter race at the Athens Olympics, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=deCzgL-hL90.
Saudi Arabia: One of the speakers in a Congress session on chiropractic services in hospital settings was Dr. Amy Bowzaylo (Palmer West 1996), who currently serves as director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Saad Specialist Hospital in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The multidisciplinary staff in her department includes eight doctors of chiropractic. Al Khobar, on the east coast of Saudi Arabia, is home to the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, and a large expatriate community working for multinational companies such as British Aerospace. Chiropractic has been a service at the Saad Specialist Hospital since it began accepting in-patients in 2001, and Dr. Bowzaylo reports that chiropractic is much used and well-liked by both the expatriate and Saudi communities. Chiropractors provide much more than relief from musculoskeletal pain and disability. Many patients have co-morbidities linked to lack of exercise and poor diet, and she and her colleagues provide broad wellness care.
Spain: One of the major chiropractic stories of the year is the October 2007 commencement of Spain's school of chiropractic at the Maria Christina Royal University Centre, (RCU) at Escorial near Madrid. A two-day chiropractic seminar was held at RCU this month on June 15-16, as part of the preparation for October. To view photos of the seminar and facilities, go to: www.madridformacion.com/index.php?Mod=centros&Opc=
fichas_centros&Id=58&opcion=4.
Sweden: Dr. Stina Berg, Swedish Chiropractic Association president, Northwestern graduate and 4th generation chiropractor, spoke at both the Council and Assembly meetings in Portugal to emphasize the difficulties for the profession created by the Scandinavian College of Chiropractic in Stockholm, an unaccredited school of chiropractic that has been given the opportunity of accreditation but is not pursuing it. The Swedish Chiropractic Society, European Chiropractors' Union and the WFC are united in asking chiropractors from North America and elsewhere not to accept invitations to speak at the Scandinavian College or accept its graduates as registrants at seminars. If a Swedish "chiropractor" applies for registration, please check whether he or she is duly qualified and a member of the Swedish Society by going to the ECU Web site (www.chiropractic-ecu.org) or contacting Dr. Berg at
.
In other news, the Bone and Joint Decade started in Sweden, so it is good news that the SCS has joined the Swedish National Action Network (NAN) within the BJD and is developing Straighten Up Sweden for World Spine Day this October.
Thailand: Thailand passed a law to recognize and regulate the practice of chiropractic last year, and Dr. Oat Buranasombati, president of the Thailand Chiropractic Association (TCA), confirms that the first licensing examination for chiropractors under the new law will take place in Bangkok on July 6 and 7, 2008. At the invitation of the TCA and the Thai Ministry of Health, the WFC is administering the examinations in partnership with the U.S National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE). Examinations are in Thai and English. From now on, doctors of chiropractic considering practice in Thailand will first need to obtain a license to practice.
Uganda: Both members of the Ugandan Chiropractic Association, Dr. Charles Sebwana, an Anglo-European College of Chiropractic graduate, and Dr. Nakato Mubanda, a Life University graduate, attended the WFC Congress in Portugal. They continue to practice both privately and at a chiropractic unit at the Mulago Hospital in Kampala - a hospital that you may have seen featured in the movie The Last King of Scotland, featuring Oscar winner Forrest Whittaker.
United Kingdom: At the WFC Congress, Dr. Barry Lewis, president of the British Chiropractic Association (BCA), reported major growth in chiropractic in the U.K. The BCA, now 82 years old, has more than 2,000 full and student members, and has purchased its own premises, BCA House in Reading, just west of London. Both accredited colleges in the U.K. have government funding for tuition or fees for their 900 students and are affiliated with universities - the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) in Bournemouth, affiliated with Bournemouth University; and the Welsh Institute of Chiropractic, affiliated with the University of Glamorgan in Pontypridd, Wales.
Dr. Lewis, one of the two European representatives on the WFC Council, also presented the new British version of Straighten Up America - Straighten Up U.K. Go to www.chiropractic-uk.co.uk to view the short video and pamphlets, and to see how the American product has been adapted for British tastes.
United States: There was strong representation from both the ACA and the ICA at the WFC Assembly and Congress. The American Chiropractic Association delegation was led by Dr. Lewis Bazakos, chairman of the ACA Board of Governors and Dr. Mike Flynn, past chairman, while the International Chiropractors' Association was led by Dr. John Maltby, president, and Dr. Gerard Clum, WFC president. The ACA remains the WFC's largest member association and, directly and indirectly through affiliated organizations, continues to provide very significant financial and other resources. It has recently most generously donated $15,000 to the Brazil legislative campaign.